21st Century Sales

The last six weeks have been a learning experience.  Learning experiences are great for books and blogs.... bad for sleep and usually involve a lot of the unexpected, which can also cause indigestion.

Fast forward on my last post.  I recently opted to work with a North American business that provides offshore call center agents.  I chose the agency not so much based on a thorough investigation, but on trust. 

You see, I love to be sold.  One day, I received a cold call from a very articulate, very professional person by the name of Alain offering me contract sales help.  I told him straight up that I already had an agent and a relationship with an agency in India, but that I had grand visions of writing a book and would likely need several agents in the future.  I invited him to sell me on the idea of working with him.

I didn't immediately work with Alain.  I had no need.  But I liked Alain's style and, even though I'd never met him and really knew nothing about the organization he represented, I liked Alain and I felt I could trust him.  When I needed a new agent, I contacted Alain.

The agencies Alain works with are in the Philippines.  I had heard that the Philippines were a rising power in the offshore call center business, but I really didn't know much more than that.  After interviewing several prospective agents, I realized that the Philippine accent was generally less pronounced than that of Indian agents I had worked with.  I hired Tasha that day.

Tasha lasted a few weeks then disappeared without as much as an "adyos po".  I found it hard to understand how someone could simply disappear.  This also caused me significant hardship, because I had invested a lot of personal time training her.  Worse, I lost her a point when she was just beginning to become productive to my client.

Onward and upward.  After a week of interviewing a raft of under qualified agents, I hired Randy.  We got off to a good start, but as if on cue after 2 weeks, Randy disappeared and with him, another 2 weeks of my investment in training.  Oh no, not again!  Worse yet, a series of circumstances saw the level of urgency increase dramatically for my client.  Great.  Five weeks behind schedule and huge pressure to expedite the original game plan!

This is where Alain, and the relationship with his agency, saved the day.  I could stomp up and down, blame the agent, blame the agency, blame myself... but no amount of ranting or blaming was going to change the fact that I was now 6 weeks behind. In fact, I felt 7 weeks or more behind, as I'd just struck out on 2 agents and had serious doubts about the integrity of the agency, so I'd have to interview a bunch of them, too.

I believe there will be a happy ending.  Thank you, Alain.  (And thank you, too, Eric.)

The solution we crafted, I am certain, can save thousands of dollars and countless hours of lost productivity.  It will contribute to the chapter of this book-to-be on eBooks.

Would you pay $25 for an eBook that could save you thousands of dollars and thousands of hours? 

Now I have to figure out how to make it available to you!